He was born in Amsterdam, the son of Abraham de Graaf and Susanna Pietersz Eppingh.
His father was in the service of the Dutch East India Company from 1679 until his death in 1714, during which time he authored several standard texts of navigation.
In 1691, he received a commission to produce an Atlas of Africa and Asia for the Dutch East India Company, which could then be used by their governing council when considering policy.
In 2015 following the discovery of the wreck of the Diemermeer , further research revealed that one of de Graaf's maps was found in the National Library of Australia.
The map was drawn by de Graaf in 1735, shortly before the ship was built.